The Collegio Clementino is a palace in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, sited between the Strada del'Orso and the banks of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

. It was founded by

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

in 1595, to host Slavonian refugees.

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome. Biography Giacomo Della Porta was ...

was commissioned to erect a suitable building to house them, which would be one of the aged architect's last projects. On February 25, 1601,

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As p ...

shifted the Slavs to Loreto and refounded the Collegio Clementino as an elite school for young noblemen of every nation and the richest families in Rome. The musical tradition of the Collegio Clementino remained strong: Alessandro Scarlatti wrote

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

s for Carnival seasons and came up from Naples to oversee their production. Instruction "in all the sciences and the gentlemanly arts" according to a description of 1761, was entrusted to brothers of the ''

Somaschi , image = SomascosEscut.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of arms of the Somascan Fathers , abbreviation = CRS , nickname = Somascans , formation = , founder ...

'', a religious order of teaching brothers established during the Counter-Reformation, which had been authorized by

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

in 1568; they proved themselves expert in establishing

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. In the 17th and 18th century the Collegio Clementino produced

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

, and numerous cardinals, including

Domenico Silvio Passionei Domenico Silvio Passionei (2 December 1682 – 5 July 1761) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Born in Fossombrone near Urbino, Marche, he went to Rome in 1695, where he studied philosophy at the Collegio Clementino ( ...

, Francesco Guidobono Cavalchini, Bartolomeo Pacca,

Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata (1 April 1757 - 3 August 1843) was a native of Malta and a bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Bishop of Senigallia from 1818 until his death in 1843. Biography Testaferrata was born to a noble famil ...

, the mathematician Giulio Carlo de' Toschi di Fagnano, and the Pacific explorer

Alessandro Malaspina Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Tuscan explorer who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 t ...

. Here Carlo Spinola and Domenico Quarteironi taught the young

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

and inventor,

Raimondo di Sangro Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero (30 January 1710 – 22 March 1771) was an Italian nobleman, inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason best remembered for his reconstruction of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples. Early l ...

, prince of Sansevero. The college was disbanded in 1873.Kendrick, p. 9.

Notes and references

Bibliography

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External links

Collegio Clementino
described in a 1761 engraving by Giuseppe Vasi

(in Italian) {{Authority control Higher education in Italy Universities and colleges in Rome 1595 establishments in the Papal States Palaces in Rome Renaissance architecture in Rome Rome R. IV Campo Marzio